Uber to sell Chinese subsidiary to competitor Didi after losses worth billions
Once the deal – details of which are not public – is finalised, the two cab-hailing giants will be valued at $35 billion, according to officials in the know.
Uber Technologies will soon sell its business in China to Didi Chuxing, the leading taxi service in the country. WIth the take over, the latter will be valued at $35 billion, officials privy to the deal said, according to Bloomberg. In a statement the Beijing-based company confirmed the news and said it has decided to buy Uber’s brand, business and data in the country. Details of of the deal has not been made public yet.
"Didi Chuxing and Uber have learned a great deal from each other over the past two years,” said Didi chief Cheng Wei. The contract will end the rivalry between the two cab-hailing services, which have been competing for a larger share of riders as well as for drivers. According to reports, Uber will get 5.89 percent of the combined company with preferred equity interest equal to 17.7 percent of the economic benefits.
The company's shareholders in China, including web services company Baidu Inc, will be given 2.3% of the economic interests in Didi Chuxing. Didi's Wei and Uber CEO Travis Kalanick will be part of the board of directors of eachother's companies. According to the deal, the Chinese company will make an investment of $1-billion investment in Uber.
In a blog post, Kalanick said, "Uber and Didi Chuxing are investing billions of dollars in China, and both companies have yet to turn a profit there. Getting to profitability is the only way to build a sustainable business that can best serve Chinese riders, drivers and cities over the long term... I have no doubt that Uber China and Didi Chuxing will be stronger together"
Uber investors had been pushing for the company to sell its Chinese subsidiary after making losses to the tune of more than $2 billion. This was despite the Xi Jinping government's move to legalise cab-hailing services in the country from November. Also, Didi recently merged with another leading Chinese taxi service, Kuaidi, which attracted investment from e-commerce giants Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Tencent Holdings Ltd as well as Apple Inc.